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Students Look 20 Years into the Future and Take Home Prize

November 27, 2013

In 2033, medical education will largely take place in patients’ homes and faculty members will be “beamed in” via hologram to supervise students and guide treatment. Implanted chips will also monitor a patient’s health, and personalized medicine based on a person’s genetics will be commonplace.

That’s the vision of the future depicted in a two-minute video produced over the summer by students and faculty members at Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM). The video recently earned third place in a national competition sponsored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The contest challenged entrants to create videos that “envision the innovations of tomorrow in academic medicine.” All videos had to be produced entirely in house.

Temple’s award was announced on November 5 at the AAMC annual meeting in Philadelphia. The video was displayed throughout the meeting and can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/187hzjo.

The students’ video begins with a depiction of a physician house call 100 years ago. It then flashes forward to 2033 when a Temple medical student and resident visit a patient’s home and are supervised by a holographic Dr. Audrey Uknis, a Temple rheumatologist. References are made in the video to an implanted diagnostic chip and the use of medications that would best fit the patient’s genetic profile.

“When we sat down as a group to brainstorm, we envisioned the way that technology could be utilized to bring a truly patient-centered approach to medical education,” says Dr. Uknis, who is also Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Strategy for TUSM. “We combined what we miss most about healthcare 100 years ago with the technologic advances that will enable us to synchronize education and healthcare delivery in the future.”

Students who had a hand in producing the video – either “on camera” or behind the scenes – included Charles Bergman, Erin Hickey, Nick Osevala, Megan Oblaczynski and Tomi Sodeke. Faculty members appearing in the video included Dr. Uknis and Gerald Sterling, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Education.

“The project was exciting because our portrayal of medicine 20 years had to be different and well thought out,” says student Erin Hickey. “One of the best parts of the entire process was the chance to engage in a creative discussion with the deans, residents and other medical students.”